neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Monsters, Inc.
	Pete Docter John Goodman, Billy Crystal 2001		Those merry geniuses at Pixar ("Toy Story") have confected another people-pleasing, state-of-the-art computer-animated comedy. The premise is juicy: There are genuine monsters who lurk in the closets of children and wait until dark to sneak out and scare the little ones. But the beasts — including lovable, furry behemoth Sully (voice of John Goodman) and punchline-spouting buddy/walking eyeball Mike (voice of Billy Crystal) — are just good-natured, hard-working stiffs from a monstrous otherworld. And they're as freaked by humans as vice versa. In a model factory, the frighteners use dimension-spanning portals that look like bedroom doors to enter our reality, terrify the kids and collect the energy from the screams to power the city of Monstropolis. When an unfazed moppet bonds with Sully and adoringly follows him back through a portal, she throws Monstropolis into a panic. "Monsters, Inc." may not match the warmth and appeal of the "Toy Story" films, but it makes up for it with vaudeville verve.